Poms Camp

Beth attended a poms camp at the local high school, in addition to the poms & cheerleading that she does on a weekly basis. This was a week-long camp run by the high school cheerleaders & cheerleading coach. Beth really enjoyed this & on the last day the different age groups all put on a display of the cheers & dance routines that they had learnt during the week. Beth did a really good job & was rewarded with a pair of Rockwood poms that the cheerleaders use when cheering on their team - Go Falcons!

I've got a brand new combine harvester.....(no, make that a tractor)

Tony & Mary live out in the country, & with the size of their plot of land it makes sense to have a tractor. Tony bought a new John Deere & was kind enough to let me have a drive. I only drove it around their garden & had a play with the hydraulically operated bucket, but he wanted to show us what it could do. It has a top speed close to 30 mph, which might not sound like much, but when you are driving along a gravel road & don't have any suspension (other than the tyre sidewalls) it gets pretty lairy!

JAG - Circus Flora

JAG organized discount tickets to see Circus Flora's 'Marrakesh' production. Circus Flora is run by the Circus Arts Foundation of Missouri (CAFM) whose mission is to broaden & deepen the appreciation of the performing arts in the St Louis community by producing & presenting innovative performances & educational programs through the use of classic circus skills. The circus has performed in St Louis since 1987 & has also been invited to perform in other cities throughout the US including: the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC, the Lincoln Center in New York, & the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Inspired by the Charlie Chan mystery series, this production featured a detective & his son, who with the help of some of the 'world’s best' circus performers, solved a crime involving 'the nine most beautiful women in the world'.

We sat in a really good location with a better view than some of the considerably more expensive seats at the ringside. The circus was generally good, with a considerably variety of performances, but it was more like a traditional UK circus from maybe 20 years ago with horses & elephants being part of the show. I'm sure that the animals are well looked after, but the elephant was made to stand on a very small platform (which looked awkward) & it also had to periodically have to raise itself up & allow one of his trainers to lay underneath. Finally, it was made to run around the ring whilst the youngest trainer showed his 'skill' at being able to stand & then jump up & down on the elephant's back whilst it was moving around. This seemed particularly cruel, since at Grant's Farm the elephant keepers noted that elephants have very sensitive skin, so having a 150lb man jumping up & down was probably quite uncomfortable.

Other than the use of animals (which didn't really seem to add much to the circus), we really enjoyed the show & the skillful feats that some of the performers demonstrated.

Meramec Caverns

I wasn't able to stay off work for the entire time that Rose & Richard were visiting as I get less leave than in the UK & it has to be accrued, rather than being given your entire entitlement at the beginning of the vacation year.

On their last day in the US, Rose wanted to go shopping, but Richard wanted to make the most of his holiday by seeing some more of the local sights other than the inside of a department store. Although The Meramec Caverns were well outside Cheryl's 'comfort zone' for driving, she took Rose & Richard to see the caves & take a boat ride on the River Meramec.

Cheryl didn't get lost when driving, Rose & Richard really liked the natural beauty of the caves & the history associated with them, & Rose got to spend a couple of hours in Walmart whilst Beth was at her swimming practice, so everyone was happy!

Back To The Zoo!

The St Louis Zoo is situated in Forest Park which is only about 25 minutes from us. It originated after the 1904 World's Fair which was held at the Park. The Smithsonian Institution constructed a walk-through bird cage for the Fair, & 10 days after the Fair closed, the citizens of St. Louis bought the 'Flight Cage' rather than have it dismantled & returned to Washington, DC. The cage is still part of the zoo over 100 years later.

St louis Zoo is one of the best zoos in the US & is also recognized as being a leader in animal management, research, conservation, & education. Recently there have been some new additions, namely a baby elephant. We thought that we would take Rose & Richard to see if we would be lucky enough to see the baby as it does not permanetely live outside yet & is only brought out a few times each day until it gets older. As we got close to the elephant enclosure we saw that there was quite a large crowd so we were hopeful that we would get to see the baby - and we did!